The present invention relates to rewards associated with accounts. More particularly, the present invention provides systems and methods for performing reward redemptions.
Rewards may be accrued in association with various accounts. For example, frequent flyer miles may be accrued in association with a credit card account, and based on activity in the credit card account. These frequent flyer miles may then be exchanged by the owner of the credit card account for travel. However, in general, the frequent flyer miles may not be exchanged by another individual unrelated to the credit card account.
As another example, such frequent flyer miles can be donated to a charitable organization, such as, the Make-a-Wish™ foundation. These miles can then be used by someone other than the owner of the credit card account. However, the frequent flyer miles can no longer be used by the account owner as they are no longer associated with the account, but rather convert to the charitable organization.
As yet another example, value exchangeable for merchandise can be accrued in relation to another credit card account. This can become problematic as this value remains a liability on the books of an issuer of the credit card account. Further, existing mechanisms for controlling or reducing this liability by forcing redemption of the value are cumbersome, and unfriendly to an account owner. In addition, the forced redemption often involves direct intervention by the entity maintaining the account. This increases the costs of account maintenance.
Thus, there exists a need in the art to address the various problems outlined above. As will be appreciated from the following disclosure, the systems and methods according to the present invention address these, and a number of other problems related to accruing and redeeming rewards.